The Dhalmel Damsel: Another Star Onion Adventure
by Tanela
Summary: Something weird's going on with the dhalmels in Windurst. Will the Star Onion Brigade be able to save the day?


The Dhalmel Damsel  
  
Patsaa Maehoc sat on the edge of the boardwalk around the dhalmel enclosure in Windurst Walls, her legs swinging back and forth as she watched the huge animals roam slowly around and eat as they always did. The moon was high in the sky and the walk was fairly quiet except for the occasional adventurer. Unable to sleep, Patsaa had decided to sneak out for a walk and paused here by the dhalmels she loved so much. Their slow, graceful movements made her feel calm enough to try sleeping again. While Patsaa sat watching the dhalmels, she saw a sudden flicker of light behind the nearest animal. At first she thought it was just a trick of the moonlight, but as she peered more closely through the dim night she saw a figure dressed in white pass around the dhalmel.  
  
Patsaa hopped to her feet and ran to tell Illu Bohjaa, the dhalmel keeper, that someone was in the compound with dhalmels, but she only got halfway up the boardwalk. The figure was watching Patsaa. A Mithra face with its dark eyes followed Patsaa's every movement. Wrapped in white cloth, the Mithra stood calmly next to the tramping dhalmel. The long neck of the nearest beast brought the dhalmel's head down towards the white Mithra. The animal rested its head on her shoulder and the Mithra reached up one pale hand to touch the dhalmel's soft muzzle.  
  
Patsaa was confused. She leaned over the rope barrier and shouted down, "Who are you?" at the figure. The Mithra looked up and, smiling, put a finger to her lips. Patsaa stepped back, surprised, then turned back to run to Illu as fast as her legs would take her.  
  
"There's someone down there with the dhalmels! Look! Look!" Patsaa shouted as she ran up to Illu at her post.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Illu demanded, turning to face the girl.  
  
"Look!" Patsaa said, latching onto and tugging Illu's wrist. "There's a strange Mithra down here." She tugged the dhalmel keeper over to the ledge where she'd seen the pale figure and pointed down where she'd been.  
  
"I don't see anyone," said Illu. "Is this some kind of trick?" The keeper crossed her arms over her chest. "Shouldn't you be getting home to bed?" She glared down at the little girl.  
  
Patsaa leaned over the rope, confused again. "But—I'm sure I saw someone. She smiled at me."  
  
Illu's glare softened and she put a hand on Patsaa's shoulder. "Come on. I'll take you home."  
  
* * *  
  
The next evening, a meeting of the Star Onion Brigade took place in the usual location behind the warehouses in Port Windurst.  
  
"What's the report from Windurst Woods?" Kohlo-Lakolo asked.  
  
"The Cat Burglar has engaged in some suspicious activity around the Manustery. Also, my neighbour Patsaa said she saw a strange Mithra in the dhalmel enclosure last night," said Yafa Yaa.  
  
"A strange Mithra in the dhalmel enclosure?" repeated Kohlo-Lakolo. "Was this stranger dressed all in white?"  
  
"Yes, I think Patsaa mentioned something about white," said Yafa.  
  
Several pairs of eyes widened simultaneously. "It's the Dhalmel Damthel," whispered Pichichi.  
  
"Who's that?" asked Gomada-Vulmada.  
  
"The dhalmel damthel," said Pichichi. "My mama told me that many yearth ago, before I wath even born, the Mithra who kept the dhalmelth fell in love. No one ever found out who she wath in love with or why, but she frequently left her potht and neglected the animalth. Then one day, when the dhalmeth had no caretaker, they all got very thick. When the caretaker returned, there wath nothing she could do, and all the dhalmelth in Windurtht died. After that, the Mithra dithappeared and nobody ever thaw her again, but thome people thay that whenever the dhalmelth are in trouble, the dhalmel damthel hath to come back and take care of them. Becauthe she failed them in her life, she ith doomed to be a dhalmel keeper forever ath a ghotht."  
  
The members of the Brigade who hadn't heard the story before looked on in awe.  
  
"Wait a minute," Yafa Yaa said. "If Patsaa saw the dhalmel damsel then that means the dhalmels must be in trouble.  
  
Pichichi nodded solemnly.  
  
"What are we going to do?" wailed Gomada-Vulmada. "Someone has to save the dhalmels!"  
  
"We have to teww Iwwu," said Papo-Hopo bravely.  
  
"Yes. Let's tell Illu," agreed Kohlo-Lakolo. So the whole gang agreed and herded their way toward the dhalmel enclosure. Illu was certainly surprised to see the troop of solemn-faced children approaching. She crouched to meet Kohlo-Lakolo as he came up to her. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked, looking over the group.  
  
"The dhalmels are in trouble," Kohlo-Lakolo stated matter-of-factly.  
  
"Oh? Is that so?" asked Illu.  
  
"Yes. It must be true," said Kohlo.  
  
"And why must it be?"  
  
"Because Patsaa Maehoc saw the dhalmel damsel."  
  
"The what?"  
  
"You know, the Mithra dhalmel keeper who disappeared."  
  
Illu stood up and put her hands on her hips. "You mean Mapha? We were friends many years ago. That's certainly a tragic story, but your friend Patsaa must be mistaken. She couldn't possibly have seen Mapha."  
  
"But she did!" insisted Kohlo-Lakolo. "Aren't you going to do something about the dhalmels?"  
  
"What does your friend thinking she saw Mapha have to do with the dhalmels being in trouble?"  
  
Kohlo sighed and explained slowly and deliberately, as if Illu's understanding was somehow damaged by her having grown to be an adult. "The dhalmel damsel is doomed to take care of the dhalmels as a ghost. So she has to come back and looka fter the dhalmels whenever they're in trouble. So if Patsaa saw the dhalmel damsel then the dhalmels must be in trouble."  
  
Illu looked down at the little Tarutaru for a moment and then turned to watch the dhalmels walking peacefully around their enclosure. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with them. Nor did she see any Mithra or any other person in the enclosure. She looked down at Kohlo again and smiled gently. "All right. I'll look into it just in case. But try not to tell any more stories about Mapha."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's—It's just not a good idea," assured Illu, patting Kohlo on the head before standing up.  
  
The rest of the group whispered to each other as Illu went down to check on the dhalmels. Suddenly Pyo Nzon pointed to the far end of the enclosure and shouted, "Look! Did you see that?"  
  
"See what? Was it the dhalmel damsel?" The whispers got louder.  
  
"Is it thtill there?"  
  
"No."  
  
"It wasn't dwessed in white."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"Maybe it was jutht a lotht rarab."  
  
"I can't see!"  
  
"Is it gone?"  
  
"I didn't see anything."  
  
Illu searched in the direction that Pyo had pointed but found nothing out of the ordinary. She returned to the boardwalk and attempted to calm the excited children. "It was just a shadow. It's getting late. Don't you think you kids should be getting home?"  
  
The clamoring only quieted slightly, but Illu finally managed to herd them away from the dhalmel enclosure. The Brigade managed to regroup in front of the residential area. "Something fishy's going on," Kohlo stated once the chattering had quietened. "There's trouble with the dhalmels and Illu's hiding something from us about the dhalmel damsel. Pichichi's mama knew something. Everyone ask your family tonight and tomorrow the fight for truth and justice will continue behind the warehouses at the usual time." The Brigade expressed their contentment, saluted randomly, and went their separate ways.  
  
They reconvened the next day to share the fruits of their investigations.  
  
"All my mama said was that Mapha Jupe met a bad end," said Pyo.  
  
"My mother said she knew Mapha back in the old country. She said she was impetuous," informed Yafa.  
  
"What's in-pet-chew-us?" asked the always curious, never intelligent Golmada.  
  
"I don't know," answered Yafa.  
  
"My dad said something about 'foul pway'," said Papo.  
  
"Is that like playing with chickens?" asked Golmada.  
  
"I don't know," said Papo.  
  
"Come on, heroes!" Kohlo-Lakolo shouted over the discussion. "We wanted answers not more questions. That's it. We're going to have to do a stake- out."  
  
"I like steak," said Golmada.  
  
"Especially grilled rarab," affirmed Pyo.  
  
"No, not steak. A stake-out," said the exasperated Kohlo. "Someone's going to have to watch the dhalmels for any suspicious activity.  
  
"But what if something happens when we're sleeping?" asked Golmada.  
  
"That's why whoever is doing the stake-out will have to stay up all night."  
  
The response was immediate.  
  
"Outside?"  
  
"But we can't do that."  
  
"We're just kids."  
  
"Our parents won't let us."  
  
Kohlo-Lakolo scratched his head as he thought for a moment. "Here's what we'll do. We will say we're having a Star Onion Brigade slumber party and whoever can get their parents to agree to let them go will be on the stake- out."  
  
The Brigade looked at each other. "Okay."  
  
"We will brave the night air and the midnight creepy crawlies for the sake of truth, justice and the onion way!" Kohlo shouted as a rallying cry.  
  
Not every member looked completely certain about the idea.  
  
* * *  
  
That night, only Kohlo-Lakolo and Yafa Yaa succeeded in tricking their parents into thinking there was a slumber party, mostly because Kohlo arranged such crazy things regularly and had already set up a tent in the backyard, and because Yafa's parents had left town for the weekend and she found herself in the care of her overly lenient grandmother. Kohlo and Yafa brought warm sweaters and sat just inside the alley to Perih Vashai's house where they could have shelter and a good view of the dhalmels.  
  
They waited for a long time. Kohlo was snoring quietly and Yafa was resting her eyelids by the time a strange sound drifted to Yafa's sensitive Mithra ears and woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and pulled herself up to stumble over to the ledge over the dhalmels. There was definitely a person down there, but they weren't dressed in white and they definitely weren't a Mithra. In fact, it was a Tarutaru sneaking around the dhalmels in the middle of the night.  
  
Yafa rushed back over to Kohlo and tugged on his shoulder. "Kohlo! Wake up!" she whispered.  
  
"What? But I don't want any more rice Mommy," he mumbled in his sleep.  
  
Yafa gave him a sharp boot to the rear. "Wake up!"  
  
"Huh? Whuh? What's going on? I'm awake," Kohlo stuttered, blinking up at the night sky.  
  
"Shhh!" Yafa hissed. "There's someone in the dhalmel enclosure."  
  
It took Kohlo a minute to remember where he was. "Oh. Is it the dhalmel damsel?" he asked in a whisper.  
  
"No," said Yafa. "It's a Tarutaru dressed all in black."  
  
"Let's go tell, Illu. Quick!"  
  
Yafa ran to tell Illu while Kohlo-Lakolo watched the stranger who seemed to be milling around the enclosure without actually doing anything. Yafa didn't get very far before running back to Kohlo. "Illu's not there!" she squeaked. "What are we going to do?"  
  
"Not there? Oh no! Maybe she went for a snack," said Kohlo. "I'll go find her. You keep an eye on that person," he directed, gesturing over his shoulder to the sneaky Taru who still hadn't noticed them. Yafa nodded and saluted and Kohlo turned and ran off towards the Auction House.  
  
Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Yafa moved over to the ramp by the dhalmels and stepped slowly over the rope that was supposed to bar the enclosure from anyone but the keepers. She tiptoed across the grass to hide behind the large tree in the middle of the enclosure and watch the Tarutaru. From her much closer vantage point, Yafa could see that the black Taru was skipping around sprinkling something on the grass. Momentarily forgetting that she was only supposed to be watching the mysterious person, she stepped forward from her hiding place and shouted, "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"  
  
The black Tarutaru whirled around in surprise, dropping a small white packet as he did. Upon seeing Yafa, the black Taru raced down to the far end of the enclosure where he shimmied up the supports of the boardwalk in an attempt to escape. Yafa chased after him, but there was no way she could climb those beams.  
  
The black Taru scrambled up onto the boardwalk, and dashed away, crashing right into Illu Bohjaa's knees as she was returning from the Auction House with Kohlo-Lakolo. "Excuse me," said Illu indignantly. "What do you think you were doing down there?"  
  
"Hey! What's this?" Yafa shouted, picking up the little packet the black Taru had dropped and waving it over her head.  
  
Illu caught the black Taru by the shoulder. "I think you should come with me." The Tarutaru's demeanor slumped, but he offered no resistance as he was carted away by the dhalmel keeper, a Mithra girl, and the leader of the Star Onion Brigade.  
  
* * *  
  
Two old Tarutaru sat on their porch, drinking San d'Orian mulsum and leaning back on their Tarutaru stools.  
  
"Did you 'ear that Kohlo's Star Onion gang caught some'un tryin' to poison the dhalmels?" one of them said to the other.  
  
"That was the Star Onion kids? I'd heard they'd caught a stranger with some poison. I saw them trying to hose down the enclosure with some strange pump system from the moat."  
  
"Yup. Was the Star Onion kids. You know what's even more odd? They was watchin' that night 'cause one of their friends 'ad said she'd seen the dhalmel damsel."  
  
"The what?"  
  
"Remember that dhalmel keeper 'oo disappeared a few years back?"  
  
"Mapha something? Didn't she meet a bad end?"  
  
"Yup. Well, it turns out there's this story going 'round 'bout 'er 'avin' to come back from the dead to look after the dhalmels 'cause she di'n't look after 'em when she was alive."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yup. So the kids thought they saw Mapha and then thought the dhalmels must be in trouble."  
  
"But the dhalmels were in trouble."  
  
"Yup."  
  
"But they couldn't have seen Mapha."  
  
"Nope."  
  
"So how did they know the dhalmels were in trouble?"  
  
"Dunno."  
  
A few minutes passed in silence with an occasional sip of mulsum.  
  
"Do you think maybe they actually saw Mapha?"  
  
"I dunno. Maybe they did. Maybe there really is a dhalmel damsel." 


End file.
